PSE&G held the first of its public hearings today to field comments on its $3.9 billion infrastructure upgrade plans. Here PSEG equipment operator Joaquin Rodriguez rols up downed wires in Roselle Park after Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey.
(John O'Boyle/The Star-Ledger)

NEWARK — Nearly 200 people have turned out this afternoon in Newark to voice support for and opposition to Public Service Electric & Gas' multibillion-dollar network upgrade proposal.

There are two public comment hearings in an Essex County College lecture hall scheduled for today, one which began at 3:30 p.m. and the other slated to start at 6:30.

The early session was a study in contrasts, with AARP New Jersey organizing about 50 people, most clad in yellow T-shirts, who oppose planned rate increase associated with the plan.

Two unions whose members work for PSE&G brought out about twice that number, clad in black shirts and in orange shirts, to support for the proposal.

Charles Ettel, 78, and an AARP member, said he understood upgrades were needed but was concerned that the cost of living increases makes it more difficult for retirees like him to keep up.

"Everything keeps raising, raising, raising," he said. "When is it going to stop?"

The utility's $3.9 billion "Energy Strong" project, proposed in February, would span 10 years, with its intent to fortify the state's largest utility against future storms, the company has said.

If approved by the state Board of Public Utilities, the total cost would be passed on to PSE&G's 2.1 million gas and electric customers.

Jim Condon, a vice president for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 94, has been a PSE&G worker for 31 years.

"I really do think this will serve our customers better by reducing the restoration time," he said. Conlon, the local vice president, said his parents are also concerned about rising costs but he said it would pay off in the long run.

"This is absolutely needed and it will help with jobs," he said.

PSE&G has projected the entire project could create up to 5,800 construction and related jobs.

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A representative from Newark-based PSE&G offered an opening statement, as did Stefanie Brand, director of the state Division of Rate Counsel, which represents customers in rate cases, including this one.

Brand told the assembled crowd and BPU commissioner Joseph Fiordaliso that at issue is the "the prudency, cost effectiveness and cost efficiency of the activities and programs proposed for the first five years" of Energy Strong, which comes out to about $2.6 billion.

The remaining $1.3 billion has not been formally requested.

During her statement, Brand said her office questioned whether customers should have to reimburse PSE&G for the entire cost of the project, and whether the proposed rate increases — which comes out to about $60 a year per household for electric and the same for gas after the fifth year — was reasonable.

Brand said that PSE&G "has admitted that if the program is approved, only 39 percent of the customers who experienced outages in Superstorm Sandy will not suffer an outage or will suffer one of a shorter duration."

But PSE&G spokeswoman Karen Johnsno called that 39 percent figure "a total mischaracterization" of what the company submitted to the BPU.

"We believe the total number of outage hours that customers experienced would have been reduced by that (39 percent) amount," Johnson said in an email. "And that reduction would have benefited virtually all of our customers affected by the storm."

At the meeting, PSE&G attorney Vaughn McKoy reminded the audience about the damage Tropical Storm Irene and Hurricane Sandy inflicted on the utility system and the mass outages, particularly in the case of Sandy, that ensued.

"Had the improvements we are proposing been in place during Sandy, a substantial portion of PSE&G’s service interruptions would have been avoided and those who lost power would have been restored more quickly," he said.

"All customers in our service territory will benefit from the proposed improvements. Energy Strong goes above and beyond PSE&G’s current commitment to reliability, which includes investing in our systems to meet reliability standards."